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Quantifying the Effect of Light Intensity Uniformity on the Crop Yield by Pea Microgreens Growth Experiments
Differences in individual plant growth are affected by the spatial variation of light intensity, reducing the homogeneity of microgreen crops. Identifying
László Balázs, Gergő Péter Kovács, Csaba Gyuricza, Petra Piroska, Ákos Tarnawa, Zoltán Kende
Horticulturae · 2023 · https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae9111187
Abstract
Differences in individual plant growth are affected by the spatial variation of light intensity, reducing the homogeneity of microgreen crops. Identifying the tradeoffs between light uniformity and crop quality is challenging due to the confounding effect of nonuniform illuminance with other noise factors. This study presents the results of hydroponic pea (Pisum sativum, L.) growth experiments aimed at quantifying the effect of photon irradiance variations. By adjusting the power of LED luminaires, we established one uniformly illuminated zone and two non-uniformly illuminated zones. Germinated seeds with 6 cm-long radicles were transplanted to cultivation trays with known light intensity in predetermined positions. Plants were cut 12 days after the start of light treatment and measured for fresh weight and shoot height. Our findings revealed no significant difference between the crop yield on trays having the same average PPFD but different light uniformity. However, correlation analysis of individual measurement data showed that local PPFD differences explained 31% of the fresh weight variation, and the rest was attributed to noise in the germination and growth processes. We also discuss the implications of our findings for the design and optimization of vertical farms.
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How to credit this work
László Balázs; Gergő Péter Kovács; Csaba Gyuricza; Petra Piroska; Ákos Tarnawa; Zoltán Kende (2023). Quantifying the Effect of Light Intensity Uniformity on the Crop Yield by Pea Microgreens Growth Experiments. Horticulturae. https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae9111187 Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Hosted by EVEC Athens (microgreens.org.gr). No changes were made to this article. Provided as-is, without warranties. EVEC Athens is not affiliated with, and this copy is not endorsed by, the authors or the publisher.
Explore this on our site
- How to grow it: Pea microgreens — growing guide
- Related reading: Microgreens the future of urban agriculture and superfoods part i
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